Hey, welcome back to chapter three!

RRC and ENJOY

Chapter 3: Fire and Water Together? Part 2

Katara was woken up by a pesky ray of sunlight that seemed to creep through the top of the large tree she was laying under. She sat up and rubbed her neck trying to work out a small kink in it when, suddenly, the events of yesterday crawled into her mind. She looked to her left to see Azula sitting cross legged- meditating, Katara assumed. She didn't know what she should do. She could run...but she didn't want to. She had too many questions, or at least that's what she told herself.

"Goodmorning." Azula said, opening her eyes to look at Katara. The blue-eyed girl didn't respond. They stared at each other for a second until Azula realized she would once again have to break the silence.

"You fainted...last night after Zhao..." Azula stopped mid- sentence, not wanting to really discuss how severely hurt the waterbender was.

"Did you kill him?" Katara asked rather reluctantly, as she began to pull at the green grass beneath her. Azula was quiet for such a long period of time, Katara gave up on actually getting an answer.

"No..." The prodigy finally said. Katara snapped her eyes up.

"But...But you shot him with lightening. I, I saw him on the ground twitching-"

"Twitching from pain." Azula corrected. "I directed the lightening along his chi paths, effectively blocking his bending." She stated. Katara's eyes widened. And I thought she was a prodigy before...

"You can block bending? How did you know it wouldn't kill him?"

"I didn't, but I had to do something. Plus, I have faith in my abilities to guide lightening." She replied, the usual pride in her voice. "I wasn't going to let him get away with what he did. How bad he burned you." She added softly.

Katara's eyes widened. She had forgotten that she was hurt- she didn't feel any pain. She looked at her arms and realized they were full healed. She rubbed her right arm, unconsciously tracing where the scar would have been had she not been healed. Wait, did Azula heal her?

"Why did you heal me?" Katara blurted out. Azula stood up from her sitting position causing Katara to sit up as well.

"Well that's an odd question being that if I were to not heal you, you would be dead." The firebender commented, her body facing away from Katara, hands folded behind her back. The waterbender narrowed her eyes.

"But that's the thing, you could've let me die, but you didn't." She paused "You could've let Zhao kill me, but you didn't. Why?"

Azula took a deep breath, but stayed quiet. Katara shook her head in anger.

"I'm so fed up with your crap Azula!" She yelled, gaining no reaction from the princess. "The moment you have to answer a question you avoid it somehow!" She continued. Katara became more infuriated when Azula continued to ignore her.

"I don't even know why I'm still here talking to you." She paused. "You deceived the Earth King by dressing as one of the most respected warriors of the Earth Kingdom! That's why you were thrown into the Catacombs, huh."

"You don't know what you're talking about" Azula said, turning to face the upset water bender.

"There you go with that again. Do you think I'm stupid?" Katara said, approaching Azula. "I heard what Zhao said to you. I know that's why you were thrown in there. And because you failed, you were imprisoned by your own father, stripped of your authority, shamed, and banned." Katara accused.

"You're wrong." was all Azula said and the calmness of her voice pissed Katara off...a lot.

"Well then why were you thrown in there?" She demanded. Azula's silence sent Katara over the edge. She moved towards Azula and pushed her against a tree, hard. Azula's breath had became heavier, but she kept her eyes locked on Katara's.

"Why won't you answer me? Huh?...Why did you save me? You said yourself I would have died if you didn't heal me. So why help me. What's in it for you?... Answer me!" Katara yelled, pushing Azula once more.

Azula looked away before replying.

"I didn't want you to die, Katara!"

That through the waterbender off. She didn't know Azula even knew her name. Katara narrowed her eyes before grabbing Azula's collar roughly.

"Stop lying!"

"I am not lying." Azula insisted. Katara was furious. Her thoughts were everywhere. Azula is lying. She's the master of lying. 'She 's just trying to manipulate me so that I will trust her and lead her to Aang and the others.' Katara thought. She pushed Azula against the tree again.

"I don't believe you."

Why wouldn't Azula fight her? Why won't she talk? What is she hiding? So many questions, but Katara was finally able to settle on one- the one that made her most upset.

"Why won't you fight me!?" She was sure her hold on Azula's collar would leave a bruise. It probably hurt, too. But Azula wouldn't fight back."Do you think I'm too below you to fight?"

Azula shook her head, avoiding Katara's eyes.

"So why!" Katara persisted, tightening her hold on the collar. She knew for sure now, that her vice grip was painful.

"I don't want to hurt you!" Azula finally admitted. Katara's brows furrowed in confusion as she slowly loosened her grip. "I never wanted to hurt you" Azula continued. Katara had fully released her. She wasn't expecting this- not at all.

"What do you mean?" She questioned. The fire bender clenched her fists and looked away.

"I wasn't thrown in the Catacombs because I failed, or at least not in the way you think..." Azula paused, obviously having a hard time finding the right words to explain herself. "When I assumed the disguise of a Kyoshi warrior, my only purpose was to take overthrow the King and take Ba Sing Sei. That is, until my father gave me another set of orders... He wanted me to use the Earth Kingdom's fighting force to attack you and the Avatar." Azula paused again. Katara frowned at that news, but stayed quiet, unsure of where the princess was going with the story.

After a long silence, Azula finally bit the bullet.

"I told him 'no'."

Katara's brows drew together in confusion.

"'No'?" She asked. "Why did you disobey a direct order from your father?"

'Well did you want me to attack you and your friends?' Azula almost said but decided to bite her tongue. She locked eyes with Katara before answering.

"Like I said before, I didn't want to hurt you and I don't now. When he told me I had to attack you. I told him 'no'. That's why I was imprisoned... along with my other punishments. Like the banishment and my being stripped of all authority." Azula explained to a very shocked Katara. She was so confused. She would have thought Azula was lying, but that look in her eyes said otherwise. She knew Azula was holding back something, but she was getting her questions answered- mostly- and she didn't want to ruin it by pushing it.

"Why? Why don't you want to hurt me?" Katara finally asked. Azula didn't answer, but instead stared at Katara intensely. The waterbender racked her mind for reasons, when she thought back to what Zhao had said in the Catacombs.

"Oh, but you are. My dear princess. I'm pretty sure your father taught you that love is one of the greatest weaknesses. Did he not?" The commander said mockingly.

Love? Love... Then, it finally hit Katara. And when it did, it felt like a boulder to her stomach, knocking the air out of her body with the force of the blow. She looked at Azula who hung her head low. She must have realized Katara figured it out.

"You have feelings for me." Katara stated. "You love me!" She continued louder. "But...but you can't!" She declared. Azula couldn't have those types of feeling for her. She couldn't. Katara was a waterbender. A person of calm and healing. And Azula, she's a firebender, she's a person of ferocity and destruction. This couldn't be. There had to be a mistake. But, then again, love doesn't make mistakes, now does it?

"Go ahead." Azula spoke. "Yell at me. Call me every obscenity you wish." Azula started,bringing Katara from her thoughts."But, you should know that it won't change anything. My love for you will not diminish nor will it falter in any way." The firebending prodigy declared, holding her chin high, ready to take the line of insults she was expecting. Katara looked at her oddly, she didn't even realize how what she said even sounded. Wait, why would it matter how she sounded? What was she supposed to say? It's not like as if liked Azula, right? No! She's not supposed to. But just becaus she's not supposed to, doesn't me she doesn't. Wait! What was she thinking, they're enemies. They've tried killing one another. Azula was a firebender. The daughter of the Fire Lord. But, she was banished and shamed because she stopped the attack on the Avatar, fully knowing her consequences for doing so. But, Azula was a girl...and she was a girl.

'I mean it's not like same-sex couples are unheard of...' Katara thought. 'There was Lee Mai and Sinyu in the Northern Watertribe. They were a really happy couple and everybody seemed to love them. There was even a same-sex couple back at home who used to help Gran Gran do the laundry. What was there names? Oh yeah. Wasn't it Kami and Leyin. They were really nice...' Wait, why was Katara even thinking about same-sex couples? Why was she even entertaining the idea of...of what? Her and Azula as a couple? Spirits, she was just so confused.

She didn't understand what to do. She didn't understand her emotions. She couldn't explain her thoughts. She looked at Azula and noticed that her usual mask was gone. She could read all of Azula's emotions like a scroll, and she could finally see that the hidden emotion she always saw was love. How did she feel about that? How did she feel about Azula? Somewhere deep inside she knew the answer.

Thousands of thoughts ran through Katara's head before she finally fell to the ground, emotionally exhausted. She needed guidance, but who would help her through this something like this? Katara grabbed her mother's necklace before speaking.

"Your people took my mother away from me. I'm supposed to hate you. I'm not supposed to love you. What would the others say if they found out?" Katara sobbed. Azula shot to Katara's side and pulled her into a strong yet gentle hug. Did she hear Katara right? Did Katara love her, too? Katara leaned into the warmth of the firebender. The warmth enveloping her in a sense of complete calmness and safety- something she never thought she would feel with anyone, especially Azula.

How could this woman, this person who supposed to be her enemy, make her feel this way? Make her feel so loved? She inhaled the sweet smell of dark cherry before pulling back and staring into golden irises. Katara drank in Azula's beauty. The golden light from the sun gave the princess's porcelain skin an almost god- like glow. Katara's eyes roamed Azula's face before Sapphire eyes landed on full lips. The firebender's heat drew Katara in closer, their bodies without space in between. Katara's left hand rested on Azula's chest and she could feel the princess's heart beat wildly. The waterbender's eyes flickered back up to Azula's before she slowly began to lean in. She closed her eyes just as cool lips landed on warm ones. Both Katara and Azula's heart stopped in that moment. And they felt light headed.

"I believe this means you feel the same way" the prodigy asked sheepishly. She had to be sure. Katara giggled- music to Azula's ears- before leaning in to kiss Azula again. She brought her right hand up and placed it on the back of Azula's neck, pulling her in closer. Azula brought her warm hands up to each side of Katara's face, her thumb stroking velvety skin. After a few seconds, they broke apart. Katara rested her forehead on Azula's, her hand still wrapped around her neck, and sighed in content.

"I love you, Katara" Azula whispered. Hearing the princess say her name made Katara's heart flutter even more so then the words that came before it. She smiled gently before replying.

"I love you, too Azula."

They had no idea how those words would effect their lives, but all they knew was that as long as they could wake up in each other's loving embrace, they would get through all the chaos that was destined to be in their future together.

[End]

YAAY CLICHE ENDINGS! Don't you lov'em? XD

Hopefully you enjoyed this story. I know... I know... very abrupt ending

but I thought "Why not leave it up to your your guys' imagination?"

I MAY or MAY NOT write a sequel.

PS: In my defense...I did technically have a legit, albeit cheezy, romance ending. lol-

demiflower14